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Home > First Year > STUDY: Men Who Ask for Flexible Work Schedule Viewed More Favorably Than Women

STUDY: Men Who Ask for Flexible Work Schedule Viewed More Favorably Than Women

by Judy Koutsky on August 18, 2014

Judy Koutsky

About the Author

Judy Koutsky is the former Editorial Director of KIWI magazine, a green parenting publication. She was also Executive Editor of Parenting.com, AOL Parent and BabyTalk.com. Her work has appeared in over 30 publications. Follow her on twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/JudyKoutsky">@JudyKoutsky</a>.

About the Blog

WhatToExpect.com supports Word of Mom as a place to share stories and highlight the many perspectives and experiences of pregnancy and parenting. However, the opinions expressed in this section are those of individual writers and do not reflect the views of Heidi Murkoff of the What to Expect brand.

Women have long struggled with work-life balance of raising kids, taking care of the house and also working a full- or part-time job. Many women are afraid to ask their employer for a more flexible schedule — either working from home, or coming in earlier and leaving earlier — for fear that they won't seem as competent or dependable as their male counterparts.

It turns out, these feelings may be justified. According to a recent study by researchers at Furman University in South Carolina, men who asked if they could work a more flexible work schedule were viewed more favorably than women who asked for the same thing for the same reason.

The research was conducted on 646 people ranging in age from 25 to 65 years old. Participants in the study were asked to read a transcript between an employer and employee. In the transcript, the employee asked to either work from home for two days a week, or come in early three days a week and leave early on those days. After reading the scenario, study participants were asked how likely they were to grant the request. Study participants were also asked to rate that employee in terms of how likeable, committed, dependable and dedicated they found him or her.

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Among those participants who read the scenario of a man asking to work from home two days a week for child care reasons, almost 70 percent said they were "likely" or "very likely" to grant the request. However, for those participants who read the same scenario, but this time it was a woman doing the asking, only 57 percent were "likely" or "very likely" to approve the request.

Even more disturbing, almost 25 percent of the study participants viewed these men as "extremely likable" whereas only 3 percent of women were viewed this way. In the same vein, only 3 percent found the men "not at all" or "not very" committed, whereas 15 percent of women were rated this way.

"These results demonstrate how cultural notions of parenting influence perceptions of people who request flexible work," said lead study author Christin Munsch, an assistant professor of sociology at Furman University. "Today, we think of women's responsibilities as including paid labor and domestic obligations, but we still regard breadwinning as men's primary responsibility, and we feel grateful if men contribute in the realm of childcare or to other household tasks."

While these most recent study results were not very promising, the good news is that change can happen, especially if approached the correct way. If you're thinking about asking for a flexible work schedule, these tips are a good place to start:

Go to your boss with a plan. If you want to work from home a day a week or want to change the hours you're in the office, put together a plan of how you see this working. Outline meetings, conference calls and what would happen if something comes up in the office when you're not there.

Highlight your accomplishments. Make sure your boss knows how valuable you are. Talk about accounts you've won, new business you've brought in, or cost-cutting measures you've implemented that saved the company money. Talking about your self-worth may just make your boss realize it's smart to keep a good employee happy.

Keep the conversation open. Be flexible; if she doesn't okay your request, suggest a different proposition. Be open to her ideas. Communication is key. Having a positive, back-and-forth conversation with your boss is the first step in finding a solution that works for both you and the company.